Stop Dirty Politics, Tinubu Has No Plan To Move Capital To Lagos – Presidency

The presidency has denied there’s a plan to move Nigeria’s capital from Abuja to Lagos.

Lagos was Nigeria’s capital before it was moved to Abuja by the military government of Ibrahim Babangida.

Following the announcement that the Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) and some branches of the Central Bank of Nigeria would be moved to Lagos, there have been rumours the move was preparatory to returning the nation’s capital to Lagos.

But Bayo Onanuga, who is the Special Adviser on Information and Strategy to the president denied the rumour on Wednesday declaring that President Tinubu has no plan whatsoever to move the Federal Capital to Lagos.

“The rumour first surfaced during the campaign last year by opponents looking for all manners of weapons to stop him. We trashed it,” Onanuga said in a statement he shared on X platform.

He stressed that “Those peddling it anew are dishonest, ethnic and regional champions, trying to draw attention to themselves. Abuja has come to stay. It is backed by law.

“The movement of FAAN, a department of the Aviation Ministry to Lagos, where it was based before former minister Hadi Sirika moved it to Abuja during the last administration, does not amount to moving the FCT to Lagos.

“The administrative move should have attracted scant attention, as Lagos is the commercial capital and the hub of aviation business in Nigeria.

“FAAN should be nowhere else but near the industry it regulates. FAAN will still maintain some presence in Abuja, as it is not a wholesale movement.”

He further argued that “the movement of some departments of the CBN to Lagos should not trigger any hoopla.

“The departments concerned, including the bank supervision department, are those dealing with commercial banks, all with headquarters in Lagos. A regulator ought to be close to the businesses it regulates.

“All those pushing this campaign of falsehood know they are playing politics, albeit a dangerous politics to pit the North against the South,” he added.

He explained, “There are many parastatals that are not based in Abuja depending on their mandate. NIMASA is in Lagos. So is NPA. The National Inland Waterways Authority( NIWA) is in Lokoja, not Abuja.

“Will the people opposing the movement of FAAN and some CBN departments want those agencies to be in Abuja, where there is no single port and no maritime activity?

“Administrative decisions should not be politicised. Let it not look like whenever we are temporarily not at the helm of affairs, we create all manners of dangerous rumours to distract from the bigger picture and emasculate an administration led by a Southerner.

“Let’s stop the dirty politics. We can’t be playing politics with everything,” the presidential aide stated.